24th Week after Pentecost

 

Greet one another

with a holy kiss. (Romans 16:16)

 What a human ending to the Apostle’s most deep and dense theological Epistle. Imagine the public reading of the letter; maybe by Phoebe who carries the letter from Paul in Corinth to the churches of Rome. Maybe she reads in small doses or maybe it’s such a treasure that they continue the reading deep into the night. Maybe she even makes a few comments here and there. Yet, before the letter is finished, there remains one last word from the Apostle: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

“Kiss” is such a human word: philēma, one of those philōs words translated “friend” as in “our friend Lazarus;” or, “See how much Jesus loved (phileō) Lazarus.” It makes its way into our English language with words like “philanthropy” which is also a N.T. word: “The natives showed us human kindness” (Ac 28:2); or, even of God’s love for us: “The human kindness of God” (Tit 3:4)—somehow God likes us humans. Enough of that. Only to note how deeply spiritual things like “holiness,” turn out to be deeply human things like a “kiss.”

Sunday afternoon, in the midst of covid, some friends and family gathered to see how I was doing since back surgery. “You’re walking,” they blurted out with some amazement; followed by awkward gestures of joy and affection. There’s something about my recovery that has made me unduly sentimental. I want to hug and greet and even kiss. Spiritual authenticity leads to human affection—to a “holy kiss.” But, what about the virus?